Or the other way round, would a male Hillary stand a chance? I'm not trying to be rascist or sexist here i'm just saying that if Barack Obama was white would he not be a similar version to John Kerry and not get the support that he is getting?

__________________
Aim for the Sun, even if you miss you will land among the Stars.

There seems to be a lot of talk about the colour of Obama's skin. Is this really important in America. Does skin colour affect his judgement or ability in some way? Look under the skin for goodness sake and see the man. His skin colour will make no decisions, sort out the economy and solve no problems. That is up to the man.

I agree but if Obama was white would he not be just another John kerry or a John edwards?

__________________
Aim for the Sun, even if you miss you will land among the Stars.

I guess you won't find that out till later.

Not being an Obama supporter I would say that his message would be the same regardless of his skin color. I would also say the same of Hillary Clinton.

The fact that I disagree with their agenda's and policies has absolutely nothing to do with either their sex or race.

As a person I appreciate Obama because he is positive and upbeat while at the same time I find Hillary to be a two-faced whiner but in both cases I oppose their political agendas and wouldn't vote for either of them. Of course I oppose McCain as well although I appreciate his candor the last thing the United States needs today is a "military" president.

I think I'll write-in Jesse Ventura in the November election.

Sadly yes, to many Americans, the color of one's skin does still play a large role in people's choices.
I believe it's less today than ever before, but it's still a factor. If it weren't, the question "is America ready for a black president?" wouldn't even have to be asked.
Course the same could be said about a woman president and if I'm remembering history correctly, the same was said of JFk's religion. (Catholic)
I've noticed a very prevalent mindset amongst my fellow coutrymen, something along the lines of "this is the way it's always been, this is the way it needs to always be."
I know I'm making a blanket statement here, but it would seem that lots of Americans dislike change, simply because it's change.

As to the question in the OP; it's an interesting thought.
I think Hillary Clinton has come so far in this campaign, in part because of her name and because her husband was an incredibly popular president. She has also spent years in the public spotlight and has had years to form a strong base of supporters. No doubt some people are willing to vote for her "just" because she's a woman, but given the state of our country, I would hope more people would vote for the candidate irrespective of gender or base.

As for Obama--
I don't think he's come this far, only because he is a black man.
To be honest, I did start listening to him and following him [b]at first because he's a black candidate and this intrigued me.
It was hard for me to believe at first that the dems would actually run a woman and a black candidate in the same year, and the historical factor alone got me hooked into this run earlier than usual.
But, after listening and researching both he and Hillary and after watching their debates and campaigns, I'm an Obama supporter simply because I like what he has to say better.
That he happens to be black is a distant second for me now.

__________________


"If you can't do something smart, do something right."

Tresh,
I think "This is how it's always been" is the same mentality that we have over here regarding the Labour party.
"My Dad and Grandad always voted for them"
is the common answer when you ask folk why they vote labour.
Not that I can vote in the US elections, but I too would like to see Obama winning. I dislike Clinton intensely and think she is riding on her husband's past.
I think that McCain is probably a really good guy but much stress has been put on his war record which, splendid as it may be, does not necessarly make him great President material. I think the times that Obama has lived through will have been a great education for him and that he will be more aware of problems which may exist in the USA.

Do a little reading up on McCain's military record. It'll surprise you.

I find it highly ironic that the right wing "Swift-boated" Kerry's military record, which was actually quite honorable, with a barrage of lies - yet they have given McCain a free pass. McCain was in combat only for a total of 20 hours, and as a POW, "Songbird" McCain (the Viet Cong's nickname for him) seriously breached the Military Code of Conduct many times.


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __

“O.K., I’ll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital.”
- John McCain to his Viet Cong captors,
as recounted in an article written by McCain himself, published in U.S. News and World Report, May 14, 1973

“Demands for military information were accompanied by threats to terminate my medical treatment if I [McCain] did not cooperate. Eventually, I gave them my ship’s name and squadron number, and confirmed that my target had been the power plant.”
-Page 193-194, Faith of My Fathers, by John McCain.

I agree with that Freedom Rider.
The one thing I critisised about the Kerry campaign was the past war record was talked about too much.
I can not speak for others but I could care less about McCain's war record or any others record .
What I want to here is what are you going to do in the future for America, for education jobs,fair trade,healthcare,the economy, alternitive fuel, the war in Iraq and a bunch of other stuff.
The priorties of America should be concentrated on the future not the past.

Had Hillary been a man and had Obama been white, we wouldn't still be hearing about them. It's a sad plague of the Democratic party that minority status is more important than actual qualifications. I don't mean to offend any of their supporters, but let's be honest here, of the 10 someodd candidates who ran these two were the least qualified. Beyond that, there are others who quite likely would have run if minority status wasn't such a big issue, men like Gore and Warner (both of which who I could see myself voting for).

It's not racist or sexist of you to say what you're saying, you're simply observing a failing in the American politics.